Ventilating air distributing channel fastening and supporting bracket

ABSTRACT

The supporting grid (e.g., main and cross inverted tees) of a suspended ceiling also completely supports ventilation airdistributing apparatus which may include the air supply duct. This apparatus, which is completely assembled before mounting in the grid, comprises a lower air flow channel section formed of two extruded metal bars having vertical webs with hooks on the outside of the web defining ways into which the wings of a bracket project to hold the spaced bars in a channel assembly. A clip integral with the bracket hooks over the top of a grid tee and has gripper conformations to mate with a clip on the opposite side of the tee to align channels. Along the top of the web of each bar are two outwardly extending spaced arms which are used to hold the sides of a fiberglass air duct. Between the webs and below the air duct is an optional air extractor. The air from the duct discharges out through the opening between the webs. At the bottom of the webs are flanges forming supports for ceiling panels and air flow control dampers.

United States Patent [191 Rachlin et al.

VENTILATING AIR DISTRIBUTING CHANNEL FASTENING AND SUPPORTING BRACKET Inventors: Joel R. Rachlin, 1785 Wedgewood Way, Elm Grove, Wis. 53122; Rudolph Otto Neudek, W. 271 N. 1275 Meadowbrook Rd., Waukesha, Wis. 53186 Filed: June 12, 1972 Appl. No.: 262,039

Related US. Application Data 3,366,029 1/1968 Reynders 98/40 D y MW/2 3K71- E lil E [57] ABSTRACT The supporting grid (e.g., main and cross inverted tees) of a suspended ceiling also completely supports ventilation air-distributing apparatus which may include the air supply duct. This apparatus, which is completely assembled before mounting in the grid, comprises a lower air flow channel section formed of two extruded metal bars having vertical webs with hooks on the outside of the web defining ways into which the wings of a bracket project to hold the spaced bars in a channel assembly. A clip integral with the bracket hooks over the top of a grid tee and has gripper conformations to mate with a clip on the opposite side of the tee to align channels. Along the top of the web of each bar are two outwardly extending spaced arms which are used to hold the sides of a fiberglass air duct. Between the webs and below the air duct is an optional air extractor. The air from the duct discharges out through the opening between the webs. At the bottom of the webs are flanges forming supports for ceiling panels and air flow control dampers.

5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures [62] Division of Ser. No. 10,508, Feb. 11, 1970, Pat. No.

[52] 0.8. CI. 248/2 14, 52/39 [51] Int. Cl. Fl6b 1/00 [58] Field of Search 248/214, 215, 300, 248/343; 98/40 D; 52/39, 28; 287/2092 C, 20.92 D, 20.94

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,577,904 5/1971 Lambert 98/40 D 2,251,864 8/1941 248/263 1,711,030 4/1929 312/l4D 3,700,198 10/1972 Gutheim 248/214 1&5 $2 i 51 zzi il fii J4 m s $0.1 ix go J06 g 4948 2a J0 30 as \re Jan. 8, 11974- PATENTEU JAN 8 I973 IIII snmiora PATENTED JAN 8 I975 SHEET 2 (IF 3 as a; a2 69 1 VENTILATING AIR DISTRIBUTING CHANNEL FASTENING AND SUPPORTING BRACKET RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of application Ser. No. 10,508 filed Feb. 11, 1970 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,945, dated July 4, 1972. It relates particularly to the bracket that fastens two bars together to form the air flow channel and supports the channel in the ceiling grid.

. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various forms of structures have been proposed and used for providing ventilating air distribution in connection with suspended ceilings. The systems in commercial use suffer from a common disadvantage; namely, they must be assembled (to a greater or lesser extent) at the ceiling level. This is difficult and awkward to do. Inevitably, it results in very high labor costs. At the very minimum they require the installation and attachment of wires, rods, or other supports to the air duct and distribution apparatus while the latter is otherwise being held in place. Great care and skill is needed to properly install the structures.

Also, in known systems, installation requires measuring and cutting and otherwise fitting of materials and parts in expensive custom manner. The bill of materials for a given job requires considerable figuring to arrange for a balanced and adequate supply of materials and parts. The systems and installation procedures are geared to now obsolete scales of building trade labor costs.

The principal object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a simplified air-distributing apparatus which may be completely assembled at a convenient working location (on a bench or even on the floor) and then merely lifted into place and deposited on the ceiling grid structure. The heart of the assembly FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the brackets used for supporting the apparatus from grid tees;

is a bracket which serves to fasten two bars together to form an air flow channel, support the channel in the grid and align channels in end-to-end relationship in the ceiling.

A further object is to provide ceiling air-distributing apparatus which is characterized by flexibility of application in that it is readilyadapted to differing size, capacity, functional and appearance requirements and by modular dimensioning which makes possible efficient packaging,.storage, handling and shipping, as well as installation.

A very real and important object and achievement of the invention is the saving of upwards of one-half of the field labor installation costs as compared with known contemporary systems.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF'THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of portions of an installation utilizing one embodiment of the invention;

F IG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1 employed in a ceiling wherein the airdistributing apparatus is flush with the surface of the ceiling;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example ofa fiberglass duct section;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the apparatus hardware;

FIG. 6 is a side view of one of the fiberglass duct retainers;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the air discharge grille;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the air extractor; I

FIG. 9 is a section as viewed along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a partially disassembled view illustrating the manner in which the bracket of FIG. 4 is used.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS The following disclosure is offered for public dissemi nation in return for the grant of a patent. Although it is detailed to ensure adequacy and aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improvements. The claims at the end hereof are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose, as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the parts, improvements, or combinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

FIG. 1 illustrates the use of an embodiment with a ceiling system comprising convential grid of longitudinal (main) tees 15 and cross-tees 16, with ceiling tiles 17. The tees conventionally have a bottom flange 18 on each side and a bulbous head 19. Any conventional means, such as wires (not shown), for supporting main tees 15 may be employed.

In this embodiment of the invention two bar members, generally 21 and 22, are employed. These bar members are formed from extruded metal, e.g., aluminum. They are identical and one has been turned end for end with respect to the other so that one forms a left and the other forms a right. Describing, spe cifically, the bar on the left in FIG. 1, the section from which the bar member is formed comprises a vertical web 23, having at the lower end thereof an inwardly extending flange 24 and an outwardly extending flange 25. A longitudinal rib forms what may be termed a finger 26 extending upwardly in spaced relation to web 23. A'hooked rib forms an upper finger 27. These two ribs, equally spaced from web 23, define a partially enclosedway for receiving the wings of the mounting brackets, as hereinafter described. An inwardly extending rib forms a shelf 28. Extending upwardly from the top of web 23 is an angular arm 29. A second arm 30 extends outwardly from web 23 in spaced, parallel relation to arm 29.

Adjacent the distal edge of the exterior bottom flange 25 is a downwardly extending support member 31 having a rib 32 along the bottom thereof.

To support the bar members 21 and 22 in proper relation to each other and form the air-distributing channel, and to mount the channel on the tees 15, a pair of brackets, generally 35, are employed (as best seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 10). Bracket 35 is formed from sheet metal and includes a plate 36 which eventually lies alongside the vertical portion of the tee. Extending outwardly at right angles from plate 36 are a pair of wings 37 and 38. These wings are of a size to be received and securely retained in the ways defined by fingers 26 and 27 of the bars. When fully inserted in the ways, the web 23 of the'ba'r members abuts the main plate 36 of the bracket.

Extending upwardly from the main plate 36 is 'a clip portion in the formof a bar 39 with three grippers 40,

41, 42 integral therewith. The grippers 41 and 42 are spaced apart by gaps equal to their individual lengths The lower portion 39a of the bar 39 fits under bulbous head 19 of the. tee when the bracket is mounted thereon. This, in combination with the gripper 42 extending around the top of the head 19 and down partially over the far side, provides a secure gripping of the tee by the bracket.

I A section of fiberglass ducting is used for the air supply duct. This is conventional ducting material which may be formed to the shape 'most convenient for the particular installation. Two folds 45 (HO. 3) to form a triangular duct is usually the simplest. This triangular duct has a top 46 and two sides 47 and 48. The lower portions 47a and 48a of the two sides are inserted into the two slots defined by the spaced arms 29 and 30 of the bars 21 and 22. To facilitate this, the upper portions of arms 29 are outwardly curved, as indicated at 290. The upper portion of arm 30 has an inwardly extending Qtaper 30a extending to a step 30b. A duct retainer, gen- 54. These duct retainers 49 are applied to the edges of' the duct with the prongs 53 being pressed securely into the fiberglass duct material. As the duct with its retainers then is inserted between the arms 29 and 30, the resilient fiberglassmaterial being somewhat compressed in the process, the detent 52 ultimately snaps into place behind step 30b so as to securely lock the fiberglass duct to the-bar members 21 and. 22, the joint being self sealing against air leakage. Inward pressure on release lever 54 will disengage detent 52 from step 30b and permit removal of the duct from the channel.

Shutters, generally 55, areemployed on inner flanges 24 to serve as dampers for the regulation of the air flow. These shutters are formed of continuous lengths of sheet metal bent into a U so as to have an upper plate 56 and a lower plate 57. These plates frictionaily grip the inner flanges 24. The inner flanges may be formed with grooves 24a into which the detent end 56a can seat at a variety of positions. The end 57a is bent outwardly to form a handle to facilitate the manipulation of the damper from the room below the ceiling.

Between the bar members 21 and 22 is an air extractor, generally 58 (FIGS. 8 and 9). It comprises a plate 59, the longitudinal edges of which have been bent down to form flanges 60. Along the center portion a plurality of three-sided cuts were made with the metal within the cut areas being bent down to form a series of deflectors 61 and leaving openings 62 in the metal. The function of the extractor is to turn air downwardly when supplied for linear flow through the duct.

Along the under side is a cap or grille, generally 64, also preferably formed by metal extrusion. Along the under side, the cap has a center recess 65, into which the upper edge of a partition may be inserted if the area being ventilated is divided into rooms. A divider 66 extends upwardly at the center line of the cap and has an arrowhead ridge 67 along the top thereof. At each side of divider 66 the capis provided with a plurality of openings 68. Along each side are upwardly extending support flanges 69 having hooks 70 (FIG. '5) along the inner sides thereof. These hooks 70 are for engaging the bulbous ridges 32 of support members 31 to hold the cap in place.

It is the common practice to position the longitudinal tees 15 on four foot centers. Accordingly, the bar members 21 and 22, the extractor 58, the duct sections 46-48, the duct retainers 49 and the shutters 55 would be cut into, and supplied in, four foot lengths (or just that amount short of four feet to allow for the thickness of the metal at each side of the center line of the tees). The caps may also be supplied in lengths exactly 4 feet long.

While all of the hardware for a single unit may be packaged together, assembled or unassembled, and so supplied to the job, it may be more economical to package and ship the several component parts separately. The units will then be assembled at the job site, but this need not be done overhead; it can be done conveniently and rapidly on the floor or on a bench. Advantageously,'a sheet of fiberglass ducting is scored (for bending), a duct retainer 49 applied to each long edge and bars pressed onto the ducting. The duct is then formed by bringing the sides up until the bars confront each other and the end brackets 35 are inserted to hold the bar members together in the proper spaced relation. Insertion of the bracket wings into the ways is facilitated by the greater length and curved end of wing 38. Shutters are already in place on their supporting flanges 24 as the bars are supplied. The assembly is then turned right side up and the extractor 58 (if used) is put into place.

The thus assembled complete, integral unit is now ready to be positioned on the ceiling structure. It is relatively light and can be handled readily by one man. He lifts it up and deposits it at the desired location spanning a pair of grid tees. While it is resting on the tees, and working on one end at a time, he presses the clips at the tops of brackets 35 down securely over the heads of the tees. The unit is now in place, and the workman can proceed with the assembly and installation of another unit. If the job plans call for two or more lengths of duct and channel to be connected in series, the next unit is similarly placed in position inthe grid in longitudinal alignment with the first unit. Exact alignment is automatically provided by the interdigitating fit of grippers 40, 41, 42 of the two associated support brackets. Following usual practice, the joint between adjacent ends of the units are taped to prevent appreciable air leakage.

The air-distributing runs may be supplied with ventilating air by longitudinal (usually called linear" in the trade) flow through the fiberglass duct from a source connected at one end, in which case the extractors are usually employed to turn the air downwardly, or the air may be supplied to the units from a supply duct through boot connections 73. Ends of ducts may be closed by means of closures 74 conveniently cut from the fiberglass ducting material and taped into place.

When all of the units of a given row have been put into place, the cap 64, cut to the proper length, is applied to the whole row of units. If the ducting extends from wall to wall of the room, then the cap 64 would be of that length. By pushing upwardly on cap 64 the supports 69 are forced into place so that the hooks 70 engage the ridges 32 of supports 31. As is apparent in FIG. I, the cap 64 is below the bottom of flanges 18 of the tees so that a finished appearance is achieved. Should the cap 64 only extend across a part of the room, filler plugs (not shown) may be inserted into the gaps at the exposed ends, which gaps would be below the bottom of bar members 21 and 22 and above the cap 64.

As is indicated above, caps 64 may be supplied in the same lengths as the other parts of the apparatus, in which case no cutting is necessary on the job. The continuous length of cap presents a better appearance because most, if not all, of the butt end joints may be avoided. If the air-distributing units are arranged to meet at, for example, right angles in the ceiling, the parts of the apparatus, including the caps, may be cut to form a mitre type joint. I

After the system has been installed, the dampers are set for the desired air flow from each side of cap 64. The flow on each side may be adjusted individually, since the gap between head 67 and the shutter 55 on each sideis individually controllable. As a matter of fact, if desired, one side may be shut off entirely by bringing the shutter on that side over against head 67.

it will be understood that ventilating air supplied to the air-distributing channels will flow downwardly to the cap, then the stream will be divided and deflected to flow outwardly in opposite directions along under the ceiling, merging and mixing with the air in the room to provide draftless ventilation. By adjustment of the shutter dampers, the flow may be directed and the flow characteristics controlled to meet the needs of the particular location.

The apparatus itself is susceptible of many variations to adapt it to particular air requirements. The units may be installed in any lengths. If lengths less than the normal space between grid supports are to be employed, an additional grid tee or two may be used to support the unit. Esthetic and functional considerations may be readily reconciled and met. The units may be installed at any location along the lengths of the grid tees.

If narrower flow channels are desired, this is readily accomplished by appropriate alteration of the bracket dimensions. For example, the bars 83 and 84 may be fixed closer together by reducing the width of plate 36 of bracket 35 and the length of the back 95 of bracket 91.

It should also be noted that, while the form of bracket 35 is that to be used with the very commonly used grids composed of inverted tee members, the shape of this.

- said plate, and an integral clip portion extending along the top edge of said plate, the clip portion of each bracket having spaced grippers adapted to extend over the top of a ceiling grid rail and interdigitate with the grippers of the other bracket when the brackets are arranged back to back upon the rail with the wings of the respective brackets in exact alignment.

2. A bracket system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the two brackets forming the system are identical.

3. A bracket for fastening together two bars to form an air-distributing channel and supporting the same upon the rail of a suspended ceiling grid structure comprising a flat back plate, a pair of spaced wings extending outwardly at right angles from said plate and an integral clip portion extending along the top edge of said plate, said clip portion having a plurality of spaced grippers adapted to extend over the top of a ceiling grid rail, the succession of alternating grippers and spaces beginning with a gripper having its edge at the vertical median of said plate and extending in one direction therefrom being symmetrical with the succession of alternating spaces and grippers extending in the opposite direction from the median of said plate whereby to exactly align the wings of two brackets when placed back to back upon a rail with the grippers of the two brackets interdigitated.

4. A bracket for fastening together two bars to form an air distributing channel and supporting the same upon the rail ofa suspended ceiling grid structure comprising a flat back plate, a pair of wings extending out wardly at right angles from said plate, and an integral clip portion extending along the top edge of said plate, said clip portion having a plurality of spaced grippers of equal width adapted to extend over and grip a grid rail, the spaces between adjoining grippers being equal to the width of said grippers, said grippers being arranged with an edge of one of said grippers at the vertical median of said plate whereby to exactly align the wings of two brackets .when placed back to back upon a rail with the grippers of the two brackets interdigimovement on the rail. 

1. A bracket system for fastening together two bars to form an air-distributing channel, supporting the channel upon the rail of a suspended ceiling grid structure and aligning two adjoining channels comprising a pair of brackets each having a flat back plate, a pair of spaced wings extending outwardly at right angles from said plate, and an integral clip portion extending along the top edge of said plate, the clip portion of each bracket having spaced grippers adapted to extend over the top of a ceiling grid rail and interdigitate with the grippers of the other bracket when the brackets are arranged back to back upon the rail with the wings of the respective brackets in exact alignment.
 2. A bracket system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the two brackets forming the system are identical.
 3. A bracket for fastening together two bars to form an air-distributing channel and supporting the same upon the rail of a suspended ceiling grid structure comprising a flat back plate, a pair of spaced wings extending outwardly at right angles from said plate and an integral clip portion extending along the top edge of said plate, said clip portion having a plurality of spaced grippers adapted to extend over the top of a ceiling grid rail, the succession of alternating grippers and spaces beginning with a gripper having its edge at the vertical median of said plate and extending in one direction therefrom being symmetrical with the succession of alternating spaces and grippers extending in the opposite direction from the median of said plate whereby to exactly align the wings of two brackets when placed back to back upon a rail with the grippers of the two brackets interdigitated.
 4. A bracket for fastEning together two bars to form an air distributing channel and supporting the same upon the rail of a suspended ceiling grid structure comprising a flat back plate, a pair of wings extending outwardly at right angles from said plate, and an integral clip portion extending along the top edge of said plate, said clip portion having a plurality of spaced grippers of equal width adapted to extend over and grip a grid rail, the spaces between adjoining grippers being equal to the width of said grippers, said grippers being arranged with an edge of one of said grippers at the vertical median of said plate whereby to exactly align the wings of two brackets when placed back to back upon a rail with the grippers of the two brackets interdigitated.
 5. A bracket in accordance with claim 4 wherein the grippers are hook-shaped to engage the under shoulder of a grid rail having a bulbous top edge to lock the installed bracket against upward as well as downward movement on the rail. 